Nursing Home Abuse & Neglect

Kentucky families often must entrust their loved ones to the caregivers in nursing homes and expect that they will be treated with care and respect. Kentucky nursing homes have a duty to provide responsible care for the elderly and vulnerable adults in their charge, but many times the nursing homes do not live up to that responsibility. According to a 2009 CBS report, at least 5,283 nursing homes across the nation were cited by authorities for nursing home abuse violations during a two-year period, and the facilities were cited for nearly 9,000 violations. While most nursing home residents receive proper care, abuse statistics show that far too many are abused or neglected and suffer injuries as a result.

The attorneys at Varellas & Varellas can assist your family in investigating the treatment of your family member or loved one in a nursing home and determine if there has been negligent or intentional conduct by nursing home workers that resulted in neglect or abuse that caused injuries or death.

1987 Nursing Home Reform Law - Kentucky Nursing Home Bill of Rights

Under Kentucky law, every resident in a long-term-care facility has rights guaranteed under federal law by the 1987 Nursing Home Reform Law and under Kentucky statutes, sometimes called the Nursing Home Bill of Rights, and those rights can be enforced through a lawsuit brought against the nursing home facility responsible for a violation of the rights. If the lawsuit is successful, the law allows for the recovery of actual and punitive damages, reasonable attorney’s fees, and costs incurred in bringing the lawsuit.

In the most extreme cases of nursing home abuse, residents may be physically or sexually assaulted. Or, they may suffer psychological abuse or abuse from improper care or neglect. Nursing homes are required by law to provide residents with a certain standard of care, and they are legally responsible for training their nurses, nurses’ aides and all other staff as well as overseeing their actions. A nursing home can be held responsible when the staff at the facility does not provide the proper care for a resident, or when the residents are physically or sexually abused by the staff or employees.

Many Types of Injuries - Call for a Free Consultation for All Types of Injury Cases

Nursing home residents can suffer many types of injury when they have been subjected to nursing home neglect or abuse. Residents may suffer:

We handle our clients’ injury cases without any fee due up front. You do not pay attorney fees unless we collect compensation for you. Clients will need to pay court costs and expenses for the case as arranged with the attorneys.

Recoveries May Include Compensatory and Punitive Damages

Nursing homes can be required to compensate residents or their families for injuries suffered when the nursing home staff and employees have violated the resident’s rights or failed to provide the care required by law.

Kentucky law also allows for punitive damages to be assessed against a nursing home that fails to provide the care legally required. Some recent examples include:

In November, 2010, a Hopkins County jury awarded $1 million for pain and suffering, $1.75 million for the wife’s loss of companionship and $40 million for punitive damages against a Madisonville nursing home which the jury found had neglected a 92-year old resident who died after suffering from severe dehydration, bedsores, infections and malnutrition.

In 2012, a jury in Jefferson County found that a Louisville nursing home should pay $1 million for violation of Kentucky’s Residents Rights statute, $2 million for pain and suffering, and $5 million as punitive damages to the estate of a retired surgeon whose improper transfer by nursing home staff to his bed resulted in two broken legs. After the incident, employees put him back into bed and pretended nothing had happened since the effects of a prior stroke prevented the resident from being able to tell anyone about the pain he was suffering.

The lawyers at Varellas & Varellas have offices in Louisville and Lexington and represent nursing home residents and their families throughout Kentucky. Our experienced attorneys will fight aggressively to hold a nursing home responsible for the negligence or intentional injuries caused by its employees or staff. If you suspect that there has been nursing home abuse or neglect, you should immediately call or email our attorneys for a free case evaluation.

Recovery can be Denied if Claims are Not Brought Within Required Time Limits

It is important that our attorneys be contacted early so that they can investigate the case and be sure important evidence is preserved. It is also imperative that claims be filed within the statute of limitations allowed for the type of claim you may have. Kentucky law specifies time limitations for each type of case, and the right to recover for injuries can be lost forever if too much time passes after the injuries happen.

The information on this website is for general information purposes only. Nothing on this site should be taken as legal advice for any individual case or situation. The information on this website is not intended to create, and receipt or viewing of this information does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship.

We serve the following localities: Anderson County, Lawrenceburg, Bourbon County, Paris, Boyle County, Danville, Bullitt County, Shepherdsville, Clark County, Winchester, Fayette County, Lexington, Franklin County, Frankfort, Garrard County, Lancaster, Grant County, Williamstown, Jefferson County, Fairdale, Jeffersontown, Louisville, Prospect, Shively, Jessamine County, Nicholasville, Lee County, and Beattyville.